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NOAA Digital Radio, Flashlight, Cell Phone Charger with NOAA Certified Weather Alert & Cables

List Price: $80.00
Price: $36.99 ( Click to see lower price ! )
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Product Features:

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Customer Reviews:

Great Product

Finally, a small emergency hand crank weather radio that really works. I've owned several hand crank emergency radios and none of them have operated as advertised. In my opinion most of them are junk but in comparison this Ambient Weather WR-111 works great with only a few minor complaints that I will list below.

The basic premise of an emergency radio is easy. When the crap hits the fan you need an emergency radio that you can count on to work off the grid. There are two things that this radio needs to be able to do to be useful in most emergency situations; (1) It has to be able to power up after being stored for many months without the luxury of being plugged into the electrical grid or an inexhaustible supply of alkaline batteries and (2) it needs to be able to receive radio transmissions a reasonable distance from the transmitter. Now that sounds simple, but it's been difficult for anyone to get it right in the past while keeping the size, weight and price down. This one is very close to being done right.

My Likes:
(1)The price is great and the radio works extremely well.
(2)The sound is very clear and crisp.
(3)The digital tuner is awesome. I live 60 miles from the NOAA weather transmitter with a few mountains in between. When I first turned on the weather band in the house I could hear the weather report OK and I thought wow this is pretty good. But when I stepped near the window or went outside with the WR-111 I got perfect reception. I couldn't believe it. It really worked. All of my other weather radios did not receive the transmission at all at this distance, inside or outside.
(4)This is a great radio for an emergency preparedness kit but it would also be a very nice everyday solar powered compact radio.
(5)When you get the radio even close to a window the solar panel starts to charge the battery which is indicated by the LED. Obviously outside in the direct sunlight will provide the best solar charging environment but that is not always an option. Just sitting inside on a widow sill should keep the battery charged.
(6)This device will charge a cell phone. I tested the cell phone charging capability and it worked pretty well. I used an old cell phone just in case something went wrong. When I started the battery showed low on the phone. I left the radio and cell phone plugged together for about an hour sitting in a window so that solar charger was contributing. After a few hours my phone showed a full charge. I was surprised by this since the radio's users manual says it will only provide a partial charge on your cell phone. Either way I'm sure the charge will be sufficient for an emergency call for help. I did not test the charging capability on an I-Pad, I-Pod or other device.
(7)The buttons on the radio are straight forward and are easy to use. I was able to take the radio straight out of the box and make it work without looking at the manual. I did look at the manual to see how to set the clock which was also easy after reading the instructions.
(8)The radio display is back lighted and is very easy to read in a completely dark room. I especially like that the display back lighting goes dark after a few seconds of no buttons being pushed. This extends the battery life and reduces the amount of light emitted at night.

My dislikes:
(1)It's made in China. But that's how they can sell a decent product this cheap.
(2)The charging indicator LED is a little bright for me. The brightness may not matter to most people but if that is an issue for you, you could always cover it up with something to make it dimmer. I used one of those easy peel dots you get from an office supply store.
(3)The WR-111's box lists one of the radio's features as a carabiner clip. Mine doesn't have one that I can find so I'm not sure what it is talking about. I think it must be a typo on the box. It's not mentioned anywhere in the users manual.
(4)It would be nice if it included a small cloth bag for all of the plugs and cables. Until I think a better way, I will leave these parts in the zip lock bag in the bottom of the box. The whole thing is going in my primary bug out bag anyway.
(5)The one thing that I think would improve the radios usability would be if the radio were waterproof or at least weather proof.

My Tips:
(1)Be sure to remove the little plastic tab from the battery compartment before using the hand crank. The manual states that cranking the radio without the battery in place or the plastic tab removed could damage the radio. And save that little plastic tab so that you can reuse it to extend the battery life while the radio is in storage.
(2)To make sure that the battery maintains it full capacity you should fully charge the battery every few months. Every time you take the radio out of storage to charge the radio battery you need to remove the plastic battery tab before charging the battery or attempting to use the radio to do anything including charging your cell phone or another device.
(3)If you are putting this radio in an emergency kit don't worry about setting the time. When you reinstall the plastic battery tab it's going to reset the clock anyway.
(4)Be sure to read the entire manual. The manufacturer has provided a lot of other important information and provided a list of available accessories that I have not mentioned.

Summary: This is the best light weight, low cost, hand crank emergency radio that I have found to date. These types of radios are notorious for having weak tuners and poor reception. The Ambient Weather WR-111 really works amazingly well. The solar charger is a major bonus on this radio. The radios ability to at least partially charge so many external devices in an emergency is a crazy double bonus. The manufacturer has really gone out of their way to try to think of everything. This is a great radio but my one suggestion for improving the product would be to make it waterproof or at least weather proof. I would recommend this radio to hunters, fisherman, survivalist, sailors, backpackers, construction workers, housewives and everyone who believes in being prepared for the worst. I have one in my BUG OUT BAG and I am considering buying more for other locations.

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